Posted on 06/26/2013 7:25:55 PM PDT by DogByte6RER
The Old West: When men were men and women knew their place
How many times have we heard men declare of the days of the old West, ‘men were men and women stayed at home and knew their place’? This is a common refrain after folks watch a movie based on the period.
A peek behind the myths reveals difficult and trying lifestyle most modern men would never concede to and when a seeming minor health issue that would be easily cured today would take lives by the thousands.
The ‘cool’ concept of a man that stands tall for all that is good and right drawing a gun at sundown against a man of wrong and all things bad may appeal to modern guys who puff their chest full of air and momentarily feel courageous with the thought of yesteryear opportunity. The fact is, gun drawing is a myth and rarely happened. When it did, it was usually a couple of drunks full of liquid courage. The events at the O.K Corral were rare and more a slaughter than we would like to believe.
The term ‘cowboy’ does not apply to all men of the era. Cowboys were and are the guys who herded cows across the country under the worst of circumstances. The sign-on’s had to pay for their supplies and made little money. The whole ‘sleeping under the stars’ bit included torrential rains, snow, freezing temperatures, insects and vermin. The hours were incredibly long and the free chow was barely palatable. In other times of the year, the dust from the plains came in clouds and bathing was at best, sporadic.
(Excerpt) Read more at communities.washingtontimes.com ...
Though, I still think of the Apache and other tribes. Some say some Apache were still running around doing what Apache do in the mid 30's in Mexico. Pretty amazing.
Calamity Jane comes to mind.....women in the west knew their place all right....it was hunting and shooting and fishing and farming and doing what it took to keep family going....
Including this article, once.
I think the gunfight next to the OK Corral probably became legendary because Earp lived long enough to try to get a movie made about his life.
He left AZ because he knew it would be best for him if he did. When a LEO is paid for each arrest you just have to know there were some trumped up charges and lots of enemies made.
Exactly. The first place that women had the vote was Wyoming, well before it became a political enthusiasm back East. The reason was simple: they earned it.
***Some say some Apache were still running around doing what Apache do in the mid 30’s in Mexico.***
Earl Stanley Gardner, who invented Perry Mason, loved to roam the deserts of the US and Mexico.
In one of his books, he said the last Apache raid took place in Mexico back in 1939. Yes, 1939. The Apaches were tracked down and killed out by Vaqueros after the Apaches raided a ranchero.
The 1951 movie Westward the Women is an interesting portrayal of the strength and determination some women had to make a new life in the West.
Uh...never?
In fact the stories out of my family made it plain that no one messed with granny. She might have looked sweet but you threaten her family and you might as well just dig a hole pull it in after you.
Thanks..
don’t forget the men who are women.
Just OUCH!
This photo makes me think there may be some truth to my great-grandmother's claim.
He died in his sleep of renal failure back in 1980.......Oh, you mean't "Hickok", sorry
Lol him too
Eli Meaker (the Oregon Hops King) eventually retraced the Oregon Trail, marking it for posterity.
Oops, Ezra Meeker, not Eli Meaker.
definitely not the way to go!
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